Together for children– Together for Gando

Hevert would like to help those who are less fortunate to share in the success of the company, so it takes responsibility by supporting charitable causes.

Hevert-Arzneimittel has been conscious of its social responsibility from the very beginning and supports regional,national, and international charitable projects and activities.

The children are studying hard

Hevert is especially passionate about the commitment by the architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, whom the company has supported since 2006. In 1998, Kéré founded the non-profit association “Schulbausteine für Gando e.V.” to finance the construction of an elementary school in Gando, his home village in the West African country Burkina Faso. The association was renamed the “Kéré Foundation e.V.“ in 2016. Today, the award-winning architect and Harvard professor supports development projects in the fields of education, healthcare, and nutrition in Gando. Its goal is to break the cycle of poverty and inequality.

Mathias and Marcus Hevert present the check to Francis Kéré

Architect Kéré’s commitment perfectly mirrors Hevert’s corporate values through his philosophy of "Helping others help themselves," the use of natural building materials and the participation of the local people. Hevert-Arzneimittel also relies on raw materials from nature and seeks to strengthen the body’s self-healing powers with its natural remedies, not to just treat symptoms. Hevert is the main sponsor of a new school building and a library in Gando.

Since early 2009, Hevert-Arzneimittel has donated a percentage to the association for each package of medicine purchased as part of the "Gemeinsam für Gando" (Together for Gando) campaign. It was a great pleasure for the two Managing Directors Marcus and Mathias Hevert and their sister Sarah Hevert, Chairperson of the Hevert-Foundation, to present the donation check of 60,000 euros to their long-time partner and friend Kéré on the occasion of the company’s anniversary. In the future, the Hevert-Foundation will also support Kéré in his charitable endeavors.

With the support of its customers, Hevert was able to donate around €300,000 to the association since 2006.

The Hevert family among the children of Gando

Managing Director Mathias Hevert became aware of Diébédo Francis Kéré’s donation-financed school construction project through a television documentary, and the two established personal contact by chance a short time later on a train trip to Berlin. Since then, Mathias Hevert, together with his siblings and fellow shareholders, has visited the village of Gando in Burkina Faso twice in order to get a better sense of the progress being made in the village.

Award-winning dedication to helping others help themselves

Architect Diébédo Francis Kéré

Diébédo Francis Kéré, architecture instructor at the Technical University of Berlin, sees his life's work in this project which takes him back to his roots. Kéré was born and raised in Gando. He then became the first in his village to receive the opportunity to go to Germany for his secondary education and then to get a degree in architecture. Kéré explains his devotion to the project: "I see my role as opening up better chances for a future worth living for the children of my homeland." In 1998, he founded the "Schulbausteine für Gando e. V." association and received one of the world's most important architecture prizes, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, for the construction of the elementary school in Gando, which was financed solely by donations.

Go with Sarah, Matthias and Marcus Hevert on their adventure to Burkina Faso in this slide show